The invention concerns an electrical connector that can be fastened to a fabric for electrically connecting through the fabric.
In the manufacture of integrated circuits and other sensitive electronic components, it is customary for persons to wear wrist straps that are electrically connected to ground to guard against the accumulation of electrostatic charges. When such a person is in a clean room, it may be necessary to wear a garment made from a fabric that completely covers the arms and hands. Although the gloves of the garment may be independent of the sleeves, a wire passing from a wrist strap between a glove and sleeve would introduce an opening that could be a source of contamination. When such an opening has been intolerable, an electrical connector has been permanently attached to the sleeve and fastened to wires leading to the wrist strap to the ground. One such permanently attached connector consists of two metal pieces, one having two sharp prongs which are punched through a garment and then bent over to rivet the two pieces together and thus electrically connect them. While the garment is being worn, the internal and exterior wires can pull at such a permanent connector and thus weaken the fabric, eventually producing openings that could be so minute as to be undetectable and yet could pass contaminants. Such a connector can also be subjected to the same sort of stresses by machinery used to clean the garment, typically after each use. Furthermore, the electrical connector can become slightly corroded by the cleaning materials, thus creating an additional possible source of contamination. Even if the metal of a permanent connector is completely resistant to corrosion, contaminants could be entrapped between the connector and the garment fabric during cleaning and might be released when the garment is worn.